


Unlucky Seven

by DimensionSlip



Series: Räven och Slottet [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Illustrated, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 07:56:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12700659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DimensionSlip/pseuds/DimensionSlip
Summary: There simply are things--both bad and good--that defy logic.





	Unlucky Seven

**Author's Note:**

> With illustrations by the wonderful Jeredu. Warning for blood.

"...Curtiss."

Jade doesn't bother stopping in his tracks or looking towards the direction of the speaker, knowing it's Travers from Slytherin. He's never had anything of importance to say to Jade, and Jade's not inclined to believe that this matter was about to change anytime soon.

"I'm talking to you, _Mudblood_."

Much as it causes his stomach to drop, he pretends not to hear the insult and keeps his steps carefully casual as he walks it off. He's known since his last year that the Ministry is corrupt to some extent and know of his true blood status, so this manner of outing had been something he'd been bracing for as a matter of when and how. As such, he proceeds with his plans of not engaging them and appearing unruffled, knowing that it's important to extract himself from this situation as quick as possible.

Still, the best of plans don't always see themselves to fruition, and he nearly crashes into Mulciber and Avery, who have taken it upon themselves to block his path.

"Did all that filth get into your ears?" Mulciber says, sneering at him. "Then again, the likes of you aren't worthy of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

Ignoring the obvious bait, Jade sidesteps to the left, only to find himself face-to-face with another Slytherin.

"...Move aside, Selwyn." Jade says quietly, though with a hint of cool danger beneath his tone. His grip on his book bag is loose, and he's ready to shrug it off and make a grab for his wand should the need arise.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that, M--"

Jade proceeds to barrel his way through the small opening between Selwyn and Travers, who is rapidly closing in on him. He bumps shoulders with the latter as he attempts to slip past the slowly growing throng of students surrounding him.

"Hey--" Selwyn attempts to grab Jade's shoulder, but Jade is quick to drop his bag and break into a run--though not without whirling around and drawing up a Shield Charm before a curse hits him from behind. It rebounds from the shield and strikes a pillar instead, knocking off a few bricks which Jade takes the time to dodge.

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

The spell comes from behind Jade and sends his wand flying into the air. Much to Jade's silent consternation, Travers is the one who catches his wand, gleefully so. Though it's not the person that concerns him as much as the fact that he's been caught off-guard in this manner--not having taken into account the possibility of a danger from the other side of the corridor.

His next thought is to flee and have the teachers deal with retrieving his wand, but it's a plan of action that's promptly put to a screeching halt when several wands are pointed at him, all jets of red that he mostly avoids, except for one that hits him on the side of his head.

The last thing he sees before the world turns black is a terrified Ravenclaw first-year looking his way, along with the telling smiles of several students that promise no good.

* * *

"You're awake."

When Jade regains consciousness, it's to a pounding headache, bound limbs, and a place on the floor, a situation none too comforting as memories of a not-entirely-forgotten situation from the previous year comes to mind, including the enchanted rope used on him. This time around, however, there's a gag in his mouth--a dirty and smelly rag which he suspects to have been used by Filch at some point in time. It's only by virtue of working so long with potions of different varieties that he doesn't retch at it, instead focusing his energies into placing where he was, as well as assessing the threats around him.

"No one's coming to save you, so you might as well give up."

A classroom, most likely one of those very much unused ones down the dungeons. At least ten students--Slytherins judging by the hem of their robes. He recognizes the first speaker as Avery, and the second one as Selwyn. Judging by the wands they have out and the sinister smiles on their faces, they, as Jade had suspected earlier, had nothing in Jade's best interests planned.

That, and his chances of escape, much as he doesn't want to agree with Selwyn's assessment, are admittedly pretty much zero.

Before he could steel himself for what's to come, a Knockback Jinx is thrown his way, causing him to skid across the floor and slam bodily against an empty shelf. He groans through the gag as the wind is knocked out of him, mentally cursing himself for the reflex to do so. Shifting slightly from his position on the floor, he schools his expression back to a neutral one, giving no indication that the shoulder he landed on is starting to ache thanks to the impact.

Jade's attempt to pull himself to a sitting position is cut short by Avery grabbing him by the collar and shoving him backwards against the shelf. The dividers dig into his back as the ropes chafe uncomfortably against his wrists, but this time around he's able to control his reaction, impassive even as he feels the rope about to break skin at the pressure being applied on it.

"Hey! Don't start on the fun without us!"

As if startled at being caught in the act, Avery drops Jade almost instantly, making him land once more on his already bruised shoulder. He closes his eyes momentarily as he wills his breathing to even out, which is already difficult to do given the lack of air about them.

"Why are you guys doing this like Muggles? Here, I'll show you how it's done."

Jade is saved the effort of trying to look up when someone grabs him by the hair and forces him to do so. Prickles of pain race through his scalp as his head is turned towards Travers, whose expression twists into a nasty smile when he makes a slashing motion through the air with his wand, conjuring a purple flame which hits Jade square on the chest.

"Hey!" The Slytherin holding Jade lets go quickly, and Jade doesn't need to look in between muffled gasps and the haze of this renewed wave of pain to know that an accusatory look is being thrown Travers's way. "You almost hit me!"

"Who cares, it did the job."

The job being Jade feeling like his air supply has been abruptly cut off, that is. He dimly recognizes it as a poorly executed version of a curse he's read about, if only because if it were properly done, he wouldn't have the luxury of breathing through labored lungs that very moment. Or very much feel the way another jinx is thrown his way, leading him to involuntarily curl up as he feels himself about to throw up his lunch for more reasons than one.

"Take off the gag," Travers says, "I want to hear him scream and beg."

Avery scoffs. "...You do it, I'm not touching that Mudblood."

"Lazy arses," Selwyn mutters, then points his wand at Jade. " _Diffindo!_ "

Jade feels the front of his robes tear, a shallow cut across his chest at the poorly targeted spell.

"You missed!" But instead of sounding appalled, Avery sounds positively gleeful at the occurrence. "Here's how you do it!"

Another Severing Charm is cast, hitting the side of his thigh as he mutes a wince. The next one slashes his arm, and two more of them are fired, one meeting its target and cutting his cheek and the other severing the ropes that bound his feet. He's barely able to move them before one of the boys drop what seems to be a desk on his ankles. Jade doesn't scream, but he shuts his eyes and grits his teeth all the same as he feels and hears the sound of shattering bone.

"Don't you dare think about escaping." Travers says, triumph evident in his tone. "Not until we've taught you a lesson."

It's not like he could run anyway, he thinks as they force him to his feet. As they begin stringing him up by his wrists, Jade opens his eyes and deliberately shoots them a baleful stare, giving no indication of how agonizing it was to stand legs that could no longer support him. If there's anything he's certain about, it's that he's not going to give them what they want--a reason why he starts to empty his mind, slowly closing off his consciousness behind a different type of Occlumency shield in his final attempt to stave off his attackers.

...They may have taken away his physical freedom, but he wasn't about to let them have their way with his spirit. Even if it will cost him his life.

* * *

Jasper isn't someone who is predisposed to fear.

Or so he likes to think. Fear is often seen as a sign of weakness in his house, one which certain people do not hesitate to prey upon once sensed.

But fear, and something akin to apprehension, is something he's definitely feeling that moment as he descends down the dungeons, the words of one certain Ravenclaw first year playing in an endless loop inside his head.

" _They've got someone! Please, you've got to save them!_ "

He couldn't get a coherent word out of her besides those, unable to get the name of the "they" in this situation or the "someone" here. Nonetheless, her undisguised distress is enough for him to ask for general directions in that regard and to start flying down the halls, hand on his wand as he searches for any sign of this person she speaks of. Much as he'd rather hope it was a joke, there is an ominous note to those words that he couldn't discount, and it's with that gut instinct in mind that he's careful when he checks the rooms around the place, ready to fire a Shield Charm at the slightest hint of danger.

It takes a while of testing for signs of magic before he's finally able to locate a room that seems to have a lot going on, and one _Alohomora_ later, finds himself a witness to a sight he wishes he could _Obliviate_ out of his memory.

The first thing that assaults his senses is the coppery smell of fresh blood. And the second thing is the source of the aforementioned, who is suspended by their bleeding wrists and looks suspiciously and horrifyingly familiar.

 

And the third is a spell thrown towards that person--one he wishes he could've stopped on time.

" _Crucio!_ "

The bound person doesn't thrash against their bonds, and Jasper would've thought them dead had he not seen the other ball their fists tightly, almost as if trying to suppress a reaction.

For a while, Jasper stays rooted to the spot, frozen in horror as he tries to process the fact that this is happening in Hogwarts right now and not some _Daily Prophet_ article he's read about. But the second Cruciatus is enough to jolt himself out of this mental spell and realize that no one has noticed him due to their fervent indulgence in their debauchery, and the fact that he's in a perfect position to stop this whole nonsense.

He points his wand at the person who is about to cast a third curse, shouting once certain spell at the top of his lungs:

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

The wand flies out of the person's hand, which Jasper doesn't bother chasing after. He's got their attention, and that's what he wanted in the first place. Any other time and he'd be reasonably cowed by the prospect of all these students turning their eyes on him, but he finds himself buoyed by the thought that he's sent away the girl to get back-up just in case, knowing a teacher would be with him shortly.

Never minding the fact that they might not be able to find this room, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it. In the meantime, he takes a quick survey of the students closing in on him. _Green. Slytherin. All ten of them._ The thought makes him sick, as well as the implications he could guess at, given what he knows of these people.

"A hundred--no, _two_ hundred points from Slytherin!" Jasper says, unable to keep the indignation off his tone. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Shouldn't we be asking you that, Cadogan?" Travers hovers over him menacingly. "Where's your sense of house loyalty?"

"Excuse me?" It's taking all of his self-control not to lash out at those words, and he settles for concentrating his pent-up energy into keeping himself calm. "I'm not the one torturing one of our classmates to death!"

"We're teaching him a lesson, is all," Avery says, unrepentant.

Jasper tightens his grip on his wand. "...Leave."

"We're not yet--"

"I said, _leave_." He doesn't know what he might do if they don't, and there's still their victim to take care of. Who he thinks he knows, afraid as he is to confirm it. "A teacher will be here soon, and if you don't get out of here, I'll--"

Selwyn looks like he's about to hit him. "Cado--"

"Get out." Raising his wand, Jasper's eyes are narrowed, cold as the dungeon air. " _Now._ "

He doesn't know what does it, but by some miracle, they relent and begin to file out of the room, muttering something about their fun being stopped and prefects having something decidedly indelicate up their asses. Mulciber even spits at his feet, which Jasper ignores in favor of rushing towards their so-called object of "fun" and banishing their bonds away. Jasper almost regrets it, forced to let recognition dawn upon him as the person slumps forward into his arms.

 

"Jade?!"

Jade doesn't respond, and for the briefest of moments, a cold wave of dread seizes Jasper as the other simply rests his head against his shoulder and remains unmoving. It ebbs away slightly when Jade takes a very much missed breath, only for it to come back with a menace when he lifts a hand that's found its way around Jade's shoulders and finds it slick with blood. Notwithstanding the fact that his robes were torn in a manner he could only describe as beyond saving, and how much blood has seeped in that it has stained the hems and remains of his hood violet.

"...sper…"

"...Don't speak." Jasper slides an arm under Jade and uses it to support him firmly around the small of his back. Something about how uncharacteristically weak those words come out rattles him more than he'd like to admit, as with the way Jade _clings_ back and grips his hood tightly. It isn't like Jade at all to do so, and if the signs before weren't enough to indicate anything was wrong, _this_ definitely is. It's with a shaking wand hand that he manages to conjure a stretcher on his third attempt, gently laying Jade on it. He gazes at him through askew glasses with half-focused eyes, quickly dyeing white with red.

 

"...s…. ine… n't … 'ell… essor..."

"Jade. Listen to me." Jasper says, surprised at how even his tone is despite what the situation calls for. "You need to save all your energy and you're not making any sense right now."

Much as he doesn't want to admit it, it's as much for Jade's benefit as his, because if he continues to hear Jade speaking this way, he doesn't know what he'll do. Except something he might regret.

"...omis… m..."

" _Please._ " Jasper doesn't know where that surge of desperation comes from, as with him clasping the other's hand--cold, almost horrific in its lifelessness. He tries to ignore the multiple nail marks that have cut through Jade's palms--raw and unforgiving against pale, all too pale skin. Working his now-overactive imagination won't do him or Jade any good, and if anything, it's efforts better put into a decision he's long since made before seeing and witnessing the extent of this damage.

That this, no matter how he looks a it, needs proper action _now_. And it isn't going to happen if he allows emotion to overcome him or if he sticks around and waits for the professors to arrive as he's warned earlier.

Taking a deep breath, he conjures a cloth which he drapes over Jade. Pointing his wand at the stretcher, he mutters an incantation and levitates it ahead of him, willing his hand to stay steady enough as he flies out into the corridors and begins the longest run of his life.

* * *

Jade, all things considered, never really thought about dying.

Even with the loss of his much admired Professor Nebilim last year, it's not a subject he tends to dwell on, nor is a topic he's comfortable discussing with anyone--not even Peony or Jasper. He's mostly accepted it as a fact of life, of a matter that's bound to come to pass. One whose tendency towards unpredictability gives it a foreboding factor he tends to associate with the unknown, which admittedly unsettles him more than any cold, hard scientific fact would.

It's why as far as matters go, he considers himself lucky that he's had time to steel himself for the fact. Untimely as it is given everything he still wants to do, he has resigned himself to the possibility once they've hung him by his wrists and began casting curses at him with reckless abandon, including one that's made him feel like he was slashed by a thousand swords. As he retreats further into his mind and concentrates his efforts on mentally shielding himself from what pain he could afford to mute, he finds himself face-to-face with the possibility each passing minute, and eventually, thrust into its presence with no way out.

And he's surprised to find himself alright with it. If there's anything Jade prides himself on, it's his ability to disconnect himself from his emotions and compartmentalize matters, and this situation is no exception to that effect. In retrospect, 17 years is a short time to live, but he's experienced and accomplished a lot in those years he has. Entered the wizarding world despite most circumstances being against him. Met all sorts of people--both the good and the bad, the worthwhile and the not. Aced his lessons, learned various things on and off the classroom. Paid back his dues one way or another, by responsibly sharing what he has learned. Through the haze of pain that has enveloped him throughout this ordeal, he's reached that conclusion of his own volition. Even if, at the end of it all, death is something he's wished for in those last moments of consciousness he's had.

So when he opens his eyes and finds himself staring up at a familiar grey ceiling, he finds himself confused. While Jade holds no strong ideas with regard to the afterlife, this certainly isn't something he expects to be greeted by.

By which, he means the hallowed halls of the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts.

At the realization, he tries to lift his arm and is amazed he could do so, even if does feel like lead at the moment. More so his legs, which feel glued to the bed he was lying on, though he supposes it's a good sign that he could still wiggle his toes if he wills it enough.

More unexpected, however, is how someone looms over him and suddenly wraps their arms around him. For a tense moment, he freezes up at the gesture, only to relax when he realizes it's Peony that's got him wrapped in a bear hug while he's lying down.

"...Idiot," Peony says as he pulls away.

"Is such a term necessary?" Jade's voice comes out more as a rasp, unrecognizable even to his own ears.

"Oh, you shut up." Peony shoots a glare at him, though something in his eyes seem to suggest his ire is not as heartfelt as it looks. Especially when he leans down again to place a light kiss on Jade's lips, much to his shock. But before he could respond in kind or not, Peony already pulls away, and all he's left with are wide eyes, then words and a frown.

"We're in--"

"--Public, Jade?" Peony still looks unhappy, but his expression is now tinged with concern. "I don't care about that crap. Do you… do you have _any_ idea how worried we were?"

Peony grits his teeth and balls his hands into fists as he rests them by Jade's bedside. If Jade didn't know any better, he'd think Peony were inclined to cry any moment now. But Peony, sentimental as he was, isn't much of a crier in the years they've gotten to know each other, and Jade highly doubts he'd be starting now, even with the circumstances about them that moment.

"...You wouldn't wake up." He says, voice barely above a whisper. "I-- _we_ thought--"

"--Peony." This time, it's Jade's turn to interrupt, gaze seemingly cold, but with an unusual softness to its corners that suggest otherwise, especially when he stretches out a surprisingly shaky hand to grasp Peony's in what he thinks of as a gesture of comfort, "I'm fine now."

A small pause falls over them as they lock eyes, and the relief that washes over Peony is so evident, and so uncharacteristically vulnerable that Jade could not find it in himself to push him off as he envelops him in another hug, slightly suffocating as it might be.

"Where's Jasper?" Jade asks as Peony continues to cling on to him, not once letting go of his hand.

"In class, but he should be here soon," he says as he reluctantly pulls away, though keeps his hand around Jade's. "Had to force him to go--he didn't want to leave your bedside at all the past few days."

"I don't see how that's necessary at all," Jade replies flatly.

" _Jade_."

Now Peony's back to sounding exasperated, voice several notches louder than his usual volume as he grips Jade's hand rather tightly.

"...Mr. Malkuth, I must ask that you keep your voice down."

Peony nearly jumps out of his seat and releases Jade's hand as Madam Pomfrey seemingly appears out of nowhere, expression stern as she approaches Jade's bedside.

"And I told you to tell me if Mr. Curtiss woke up."

At the continued admonishment, Peony turns sheepish, though maintains an unrepentant look as Madam Pomfrey begins to fuss over Jade, propping some pillows around him and helping him sit up as she performs some cursory examinations. Once she completes them, she hands Jade a glass of water and a piece of chocolate, insistently pressing the latter into Jade's hand when he makes an attempt to set it aside on his bedside table. Silent sympathy and relief colors her otherwise steely expression, clear that she has a good idea of what Jade had just gone through. Nay, _survived_.

"I know it's only you two in here, but this is a hospital, not a Quidditch pitch." She shifts to address them both, though seems to be directing her statement at Peony more so than Jade. "Mr. Curtiss is still recovering and I will not tolerate any undue stress caused towards any of my patients."

"Yes, ma'am," Peony says, effecting a contrite expression that causes Madam Pomfrey to raise a dubious brow at him before she leaves.

Once she is out of earshot, Peony mutters some privacy charms and promptly turns to Jade, though seems to hesitate with regard to continuing where he left off. After a few moments of furrowing his brow at a far corner of Jade's bedpost, he finally opens his mouth.

"...Jasper wouldn't tell me what happened, but whatever it is, it was so bad you had to be sent to St. Mungo's and…" Peony falters slightly, then proceeds in a hushed tone, unnecessary as it is, "And… I've heard whispers in the corridors." He says softly, agony evident in his expression. "I'm not a fool, Jade. I'll be around when you're ready to tell the story."

Jade is thankfully saved from having to make an immediate decision on that when a set of familiar footsteps arrive and draw ever so close, quickening as they reach his bedside. The relief that floods Jasper's expression is so painfully similar to Peony's look from earlier that once more, Jade finds himself unable to protest when he's wrapped around another warm hug for a third time that day. And a fourth one, given that Peony joins in and presses in from another side--a different kind of warm and comfort along with his other best friend.

Closing his eyes and leaning against the touch, he smiles against them as he breathes in, taking in their familiar scent. Small gesture as it might be to some, it's such a thing that makes him grateful that he hasn't crossed past Death's door yet. For better or for worse, he's _home_ , and that's what matters for now.

* * *

Still, not all happily ever afters last, and the next days that follow take on a different kind of tune, and Jade feels he's in some sort of hell anyway even if he's escaped Death's embrace for the moment.

Besides having to take about ten different kinds of potion for the cocktail of curses he's endured, there's been no shortage of people visiting or attempting to visit him now that he's conscious. Peony certainly hadn't been understating the rumors around the corridors, and many wanted to offer their sympathies and encouragements for him to "stay strong" with regard to his plight that Jade has given up on trying to correct their misconceptions. It doesn't sit well with him to be regarded as an icon for the movement against Muggle-born discrimination when all he did was stand and take a beating in defiance to what his attackers wanted out of him, but when his attempts to rectify their impressions only seemed to solidify their opinions and spur them on, he's decided that the path of least resistance should suffice for the moment.

Jasper and Peony have taken to spending their free time by his side, to the point of having sequestered chairs for their own use, as with a small table. Madam Pomfrey has given up on encouraging them out of the notion, resigned to having to deal with Jade's irremovable attachments of a kind, only bothering to voice her discontent when they're about to be late for class. Jade himself doesn't mind the arrangement even if he finds it to be on the overbearing side of things, finding the gesture oddly reassuring. Even if somehow he feels that Madam Pomfrey only allowed it because the two of them had a better chance of convincing him out of doing classwork more than he should. Having trouble holding a quill wasn't enough to discourage Jade from at least trying, and it's been on multiple occasions that Peony or Jasper had to force a textbook out of his hands, telling him in mild exasperation that he should give rest a try.

"Someone _actually_ has to do some studying around here," he had said to them before they broke into peals of good-natured laughter. Nonetheless, his grumbling doesn't stop them from keeping the book out of his reach as they attempt to go back to their own work and Jade to his task of resting.

But truly, one could only do so much sleeping when it's what they've been ironically spending most of their waking hours on. Which is the case for Jade, who was strongly encouraged to lie down and allow his body ample time to recover. While none of his wounds scarred over or left any visible marks due to Jasper's timely save, there was only so much magic could do in the way of healing some of his other injuries, which left him confined to his bed given his inability to stand up for more than a few seconds at a time before requiring some rest. Mitigating the after effects of prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus isn't a line of thought with many solutions or ideas to it, given how such an act usually results into death, or a fate worse than that. Traditional potions and spells that alleviate the effects of shock and psychological trauma only seemed to be mildly effective, though in part it may have been due to the multitude of potions that Jade was already taking on top of those.

So a natural method it was. After four more days of being confined in the Hospital Wing and healing up more or less as expected, he finally convinces Madam Pomfrey to release him, promising he will keep up with taking his potions and that he'll inform her immediately if there are any complications on his end.

* * *

Jade's decision not to offer any further corrections proves to be his undoing, for there were at least three different versions of his story floating around the school by the time he finally appears in public. Despite being subjected to many a stare, not much students actually dared to ask him any questions regarding the matter--preferring to keep their distance and regarding him as if he were some two-headed Bowtruckle that's either about to snap or about to gouge out their eyes rather than just another student that's been released from the Hospital Wing. While such a level of attention typically doesn't bother him, nor is it anything new to him, he'd certainly be lying if he said he didn't wish there were days he could simply go back to being invisible and return to his quiet life of being surrounded by books.

When people do dare to approach him, it's almost always due to some misplaced sense of solidarity similar to the strangers that have visited him in the Hospital Wing, if not some misguided desire to protect him, given that one of the constants involved in all versions of his story is that he was attacked by some unnamed Slytherins due to his now well-known status as a Muggle-born. He's come to learn that since his confinement and the spread of one version of his story, Ravenclaw has closed ranks and is giving Slytherin the cold shoulder because of that. It is in some parts an oddly touching sentiment, and in others, an annoyance. But mostly the latter, if only because it proved to be a hindrance for his and Jasper's interactions. Jade has lost count of the number of times he's had to tell people that Jasper is fine, and sometimes had to emphasize the point that he was the one who saved him back then before they'd back down. And even then, the dirty looks can't be stopped, and while he finds them a small price to pay for his continued contact with his friend, he knows that such treatment bothers Jasper, for however much he would try to appear indifferent about the way people would regard him by the color of his robes. After all, Jasper had long been a stalwart of the silent fight against various House prejudices, and seeing the way his easygoing attitude had been disregarded in favor of that is sure to be a heavy blow in some way or another.

Jade supposes that Jasper's somber mood can't be helped either by virtue of the fact that he's sworn him and Peony to secrecy with regard to the truth of the incident.

"The families of those Slytherins in question are old and powerful ones," Jade had said, slowly and deliberately during one of their meetings in the Room of Requirement, "It would be unwise to make enemies of them."

"What if I don't care?" Peony had replied, then defiant as Jasper looked on--a contemplative and torn expression that Jade had come to recognize as the latter wanting to agree with Peony, but couldn't do so by virtue of seeing a certain line of logic in Jade's statement.

"You should. In the event that they are expelled, they are sure to join Voldemort's ranks," Jade had shot back, "Incompetent as they are, I wouldn't be too eager to add a bare minimum of ten to that, given their propensity for cruelty and the defenseless beings they are sure to target." A pause had followed then, in which Jade's tone took on a more quiet quality afterwards, "In addition, you will have to consider the danger our families will be in, should they decide to take action outside the walls of Hogwarts. My family's and Jasper's are in especially precarious situations, and more than that is our present situation. You are a competent wizard, Peony, but as my situation has clearly illustrated, it's meaningless if you are outnumbered ten-to-one."

Peony had flinched visibly then, while Jasper stood on with his face drained of color. It hadn't stopped Jade from continuing by any means, dark as the tangent is.

"If any one of us is rash about the matter, we may as well be signing our death sentences, especially since it's no secret that the three of us consort with each other."

After that, they both promised not to tell anyone of the perpetrators--not even any of the professors. Both of them clearly do not approve of his decision to, but having presented his case with regard the matter, it's difficult to refute him. Or so Jade thinks. Later on, he learns from Peony that there was an uncharacteristic plead behind his glance that they've never been able to shake off their minds, telling of just how much their safety meant to him.

Still, it doesn't stop Peony from breaking Selwyn's nose when he started to go on about how Jade must have screamed and begged during the incident while the former was within earshot. It earns him a month's worth of detention and cleaning duty with Filch, but Peony couldn't be more proud and unrepentant of what he did, much to Jade's mild exasperation, but at the same time, silent gratefulness.

It won't be easy for him to put certain things behind him, but when he thinks about Jasper and Peony and how they've got his back, he smiles to himself, and somehow finds the rest of the day a lot easier to face, the stares a little less overbearing, and the whispers somewhat more muted. He hadn't quite realized how trapped he has felt with regard to the situation until Peony took action on his own, and between that and Jasper's steadfast support despite the difficulties he's sure to encounter on his side of the fence, he feels the tension in his shoulders ease a little, ever so thankful for the friendship he's found within the walls of Hogwarts. The bad may have been terrible, and worst, being the worst, but be that as it may, there are things worth waking up for each day, and his two best friends certainly number among those and more.


End file.
